Downing Strategic Micro-... Share Discussion Threads

[tomboyb] 24/5/2019 08:17

I can't believe it -

What are Downing up to - ?

Those comments you think differently - !

[spectoacc] 24/5/2019 08:14

Digging a little deeper, this from last Factsheet re Redhall:

"The board anticipates that this will deliver steady growth into 2020. "

And Investor Letter:

"The Trust participated in the form of a £0.7 million short term loan for a nine-month term. This loan will earn a 12.5% exit fee and therefore generate an IRR on the Trust’s investment of just over 19%. "

Nice, a 19% return from the loan. No, wait - they might be bust.

From Redhall's RNS, DSM have clearly decided against pumping in more money - what's changed in c.6 weeks...

Again, a few losers - even outright bust-outs - is fine if you can also pick the occasional multi-bagger. So far, they can't.

[spectoacc] 24/5/2019 07:45

Jeez. They only have about 10 punts! That's two of them in the space of a week. Been buying back shares too, that suddenly doesn't look so sensible.

Edit - 13 holdings. 2 tanking wouldn't matter so much if they had some big winners too (they don't):

AdEPT Technology Group PLC (AdEPT)

Braemar Shipping Services PLC (Braemar)

Duke Royalty Limited (Duke Royalty)

FireAngel Safety Technology PLC (FireAngel)

Gama Aviation PLC (Gama)

Hargreaves Services PLC (Hargreaves)

Pennant International Group PLC (Pennant)

Ramsdens Holdings PLC (Ramsdens)

Real Good Food PLC (RGF)

Redhall Group PLC (Redhall)

Science in Sport PLC (SiS)

Synectics PLC (Synectics)

Volex PLC (Volex)

[speedsgh] 24/5/2019 07:44

DSM's 'unlucky' streak continues. Redhall Group (RHL) shares suspended...

Trading update & Suspension of trading on AIM -

Further to the trading update released on 1 May 2019, Redhall announces that overall trading remains challenging and that the Company's short-term cash flows are under pressure, in particular, with regard to certain tax liabilities.

The board of Redhall (the "Board") has been in active discussions with certain of the Company's major shareholders and creditors to provide additional funding capacity to allow the Company to alleviate the short-term cash flow pressure. However, it is now clear that there is no reasonable prospect that a viable solution for additional funding capacity can be found and the Board is now investigating all alternative options to optimise value for the Company's stakeholders. The Board notes that the outcome of this process and its impact on the Company's stakeholders remains uncertain.

The Board has requested that the Company's ordinary shares be suspended from trading on AIM pending clarification of the Company's financial position.

A further update will be made as and when appropriate.

[spectoacc] 22/5/2019 15:13

@Jonwig - they've basically just punted a load of mainly AIM rubbish, been caught out badly on a couple, and generally done poorly on the rest.

Aiming for 10% pa compound, instead they've lost c.23p over 2 years. Reminds me of another who once had a good record....... ;)

[jonwig] 22/5/2019 14:36

I haven't bought this nor any of their VCTs, but their offerings seem to be fully subscribed pretty quickly. So this state of affairs is very strange.

[spectoacc] 22/5/2019 14:26

How very DSM!

[red ninja] 22/5/2019 12:09

Hargreaves Services not looking quite so cheap today after British Steel blow.

[red ninja] 09/5/2019 12:26

Andrew Griffiths (non-exec director) bought 20,484 shares.

Another vote of confidence.

[spectoacc] 08/5/2019 07:25

Pity he didn't pay £1 like the rest of us.

[red ninja] 08/5/2019 05:45

Hugh Aldous (non-exec director) bought 25,000 shares yesterday.

A vote of confidence.

[spectoacc] 04/5/2019 11:11

Can't help feeling they'd do better as a p/e outfit - unlisted stuff they can really research and get involved in. Punting listed co's like this is just like you or I could do (indeed, why own DSM when you could own their few holdings, without fees). Only we'd do it far better!

[topvest] 04/5/2019 08:07

Unfortunately, their record to date has been very poor. Investing in low quality companies is a risky business. Some of their calls have been very poor. Redhall, for example, is in a very difficult sector. Why invest in something like this as it's just too difficult? No doubt there is some value, but their win:loss ratio has been poor to date. I will keep the few shares that I own, but not really tempted to add.

[red ninja] 03/5/2019 14:17

The Directors of Downing Strategic Micro-Cap Investment Trust PLC announce the Company's results for the year ended 28 February 2019.

The key points are as follows:

-- Net assets were GBP41.475 million (74.59p per share);
-- The loss for the year was 18.47p per share;
-- Nevertheless, the manager's assessment of the portfolio's intrinsic value[1] compared to the current market values of these positions has increased since last year;

-- Strategic initiatives, which include management change, acquisitions and disposals, amongst other corporate activity, have been implemented across the portfolio, providing the building blocks for future growth.

-- The Company is now almost fully invested with 13 investments, the majority of which are performing in line with market expectations or better at an operational level;

-- The portfolio comprises a spread of businesses all of which are at an interesting transformational stage, likely to deliver exceptional long-term shareholder returns;

-- A share buy-back programme was put in place over the recent close period, but continuing investor interest in this value-based portfolio has meant that buy-backs have been modest .

-- Dividend for the year of 1.25p per share, due to the receipt of distributable income above the threshold set by investment company regulations

Judith MacKenzie, the lead fund manager, said "Market value of investments has declined significantly on account of a handful of positions (Gama, Redhall, FireAngel) reflecting their need for change. Our other nine positions have performed rather well and, overall, we believe the difference between our calculation of the intrinsic value of the portfolio and how the market is valuing them, is greater than at any point since the Company was launched. We have been active across the portfolio, , helping our investee companies adopt appropriate governance and tackle strategic challenges - so that they are positioned to deliver, and this provides us with a high level of confidence for the funds performance."

[spectoacc] 26/4/2019 08:25

They talk such a good game:


And yet... Punting smallcaps at what clearly is nowhere near the bottom of the market. DUKE seems to be an admission that they can't pick multi-baggers. And the buyback?? What on earth is the point? DSM should be trading at c.20% discount, buying back shares at few pence below NAV is a waste of cash. They certainly won't be raising any further cash anytime soon.

[red ninja] 06/3/2019 05:43

Mmm they claim to pick undervalued shares which are out of favour.

At some point they should return to fairer value.

[spectoacc] 05/3/2019 14:52

Agreed - microcap fund is great, if you have any stockpicking ability whatsoever. It looks like my old Halifax Sharedealing a/c!

[nimbo1] 05/3/2019 13:48

And it should be on a discount of 15%. Who on earth would pick this over Herald for example ;-)

[spectoacc] 03/3/2019 07:49

Read through the last report and basically - they can't stock-pick for sh*t, as far as I can see.

[nimbo1] 02/3/2019 20:40

Even worse performance than woodford. Says it all

[shiv1986] 26/2/2019 09:31

See the latest ADVFN twitter poll about Funds:

[speedsgh] 02/11/2018 16:52

Half-year Report -

[red ninja] 26/9/2018 12:03

Redhall dissapointed today in trading update :-

[speedsgh] 21/9/2018 15:56

From latest factsheet (Sept 2018)...

August commentary

In August, the NAV decreased by 0.19%. Positive contributions came from Volex plc and Ramsdens Holdings plc, while there were negative contributions from AdEPT Telecom plc, and Real Good Food plc.

Additionally, the Trust made a commitment to a new investment, Duke Royalty plc. As at 31 August 2018, the new position represented 4.45% of the Trust NAV and Downing managed funds combined own over 6.4% of the equity.